science · 23 August 1904 · 120 years ago
In 1904, Harry D. Weed of Canastota, NY, was issued a U.S. patent for his "Grip-Tread for Pneumatic Tires" - a snow tire chain for automobiles (No. 768,495). His invention was "to provide a fexible and collapsible grip or tread composed entirely of chains linked together and applied to the sides and periphery of the tire and held in place solely by the inflation of the tire, and which is reversible" when one side is worn so the other side may be used. The linked-chain device is assembled around a partially deflated tyre, fastened by hooks at each end, and then the tyre is reinflated. His patent was eventually acquired by the American Chain and Cable Company. Weed subsequently held several related patents and also patents for a bomb carrying gear and a bomb-release gear filed after WWI.
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